Cloudflare's free network monitoring mobile SDK open to all developers

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Cloudflare has launched a new mobile solution aimed at all developers to help them understand app performance and network metrics.

On Thursday, the cloud services provider said that the Cloudflare Mobile SDK is a free offering for developers -- whether customers or not -- which "enables any mobile app developer to understand network performance and metrics."

Mobile application consistency with browser experiences, speed, and reliability are important in today's marketplace. If no time is invested in keeping code clean and optimizing these apps, customers may experience crashes, errors, and may also become frustrated with app response levels.

This, in turn, can turn users off the mobile app altogether and turn them towards competitors -- a consequence that hits the bottom line and developers will want to avoid at all costs.

However, in order to keep mobile apps up to scratch, developers need to check not only the application's core code but also network calls between the app and networks, as well as monitor server infrastructure for issues.

Cloudflare says that while there are plenty of solutions out there for analytics, "there has never been a way for app developers to understand how often their apps fail due to network errors."

The Cloudflare Mobile SDK can be installed by adding a few lines of code to an iOS or Android application. Cloudflare says the app collects data to help developers understand and analyze network calls in a browser, detect errors, and spot ways to improve network performance.

The SDK can also be used in tandem with developer tools including Crashlytics, Rollbar, Sentry, and Instabug.

"Network access has a huge impact on any connected user experience in mobile, but mobile network latency is often ten times the latency of server processing times and mostly untracked," said Alex Austin, CEO of Branch Metrics. "Cloudflare's focus on bringing mobile network issues to light with minimal engineering effort will be great for users and even better for developers."

The announcement builds upon Cloudflare's acquisition of mobile solutions provider Neumob. Back in November, the company said the purchase would result in increased speed and loading times for mobile applications on the Cloudflare network.

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